Malawi’s foreign minister Nancy Tembo lashed out at Chinese foreign ministry’s African affairs department director general Wu Peng earlier this week after a video went viral where Malawian children were seen chanting racist phrases demeaning themselves.
Tembo said the she felt ‘deeply pained and disgusted’.
The news agency BBC upon further investigation through a documentary titled ‘Racism For Sale’ found out that a Chinese videographer Lu Ke, based in Malawi, paid half a dollar to children in a school to chant phrases in Chinese which translated to: “I’m a black monster and I have a low IQ”.
The investigation by BBC revealed that the video went viral in 2020 and was posted in Chinese social media outlets under a username which loosely translates to ‘Jokes About Black People Club’.
Immediately after the child abuse scandal. China dangles another carrot to fresh graduates. #Malawi https://t.co/iTieQpGtND— Tweet Malawi (@MalawiTweet) June 15, 2022
There are also other videos where innocent children are heard singing lines like: “Yellow skin and dark eyes are the most beautiful color.” The investigation revealed that there was a huge industry in China for these videos. The videos were shot outside a village in the outskirts of capital Lilongwe.
As regards the "Racism for Sale" – investigative documentary on BBC News Africa, we are feeling disgusted, disrespected and deeply pained.I addressed the matter during today's #GovernmentFacesThePress session in Lilongwe.
Watch short video clip below for details. #Malawi pic.twitter.com/4F2rPaQRfS
— Nancy Tembo, MP. (@nancygtembo) June 13, 2022
Soon after the findings by the BBC went viral, China scrambled for damage control, sending Wu Peng to Lilongwe to meet Tembo. However, Malawians from all sections of the society have expressed their outrage.
China even dared to appease Malawians with scholarship opportunities for Malawians to study in China for a master’s degree but instead of damage control it further angered citizens.
China, however, said that this does not reflect China’s attitude towards people of color and said that action will be taken against individuals who were indulging in such activities.
Honored to meet H.E. Nancy Tembo @nancygtembo, Minister of Foreign Affairs of #Malawi????????. Nice to feel in person the Warm Heart of Africa. Malawi is a beautiful country with lovely people. We have strong faith in our shared future. pic.twitter.com/RxBqdIoUz6— 吴鹏 Wu Peng (@WuPeng_MFAChina) June 14, 2022
“China has been cracking down on those unlawful online acts in the past years. We will continue to crack down on such racial discrimination videos in the future,” Wu was quoted as saying by South China Morning Post.
China is known for its racist attitudes present in its society. During Covid-19 pandemic African citizens in the city of Guangzhou were evicted from their rented apartments, forced to sleep in the streets and disallowed entry from hotels and restaurants, sparking widespread criticism.
There are also reports that China exploits mineral resources and miners who work on those mines in several nations in Africa.
(with inputs from SCMP and the BBC)
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